Chapter 399: Having Suicidal Thoughts
Bai Ruozhu soaked her clothes in water, told her parents what just happened, and reassured them, "Don’t worry, my second brother has already entered the exam place, this incident will surely not affect his performance."
Lin Ping’er finally breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest, she said, "You scared me to death, why didn’t you tell us earlier?"
Bai Ruozhu showed an expression of helplessness, "It really smells too bad, I was holding my breath, speaking could have made me suffocate."
So that was the reason...
Bai Yihong was also incensed, "Isn’t that person also a scholar? How could he lack common sense? Perhaps he’s worried about failing the exam because of his own incompetence?"
Bai Ruozhu pouted, rubbed her frostbitten hands, and said, "Maybe he just got lucky on predicting the exam topics last time and scraped through. I suppose he’s scared that he will not get so lucky this time. My eldest brother said he’s waiting at the gate and won’t let that guy get away."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yihong also rolled up his sleeves, "I’ll wait with him to make sure that sneaky character doesn’t escape. It’s about time someone taught him a lesson after doing such despicable things like throwing black dog blood!"
Lin Laifu, who was running the stall next to them, also came over and said, "Uncle, I’m coming with you."
Lin Ping’er was embarrassed and said, "No, no, don’t let us keep you from your business."
Fusa came over and said, "What business? There aren’t many customers at this time. Lai Fu, you go with Uncle Bai, the guy won’t be able to escape."
So, Lin Laifu and Bai Yihong left together, leaving a few women to look after the stalls. Perhaps because it was too cold or many were attending the Child Student Exam, there weren’t many customers, so the women were free to chat together.
"Caiyue is so skilled at this; she has made such a good hat in just a few days. Her mother-in-law is very lucky," Fusa sincerely praised.
At first, when Bai Ruozhu suggested that Wan Caiyue steps in, Fusa felt a bit uncomfortable and insisted that they shouldn’t count the help of additional people. Bai Ruozhu then simply stated that her mother didn’t want to overwork herself and asked Fusa to stop pressuring her mother. Fusa had nothing more to say, but she knew that the Bai Family didn’t want the Lin Family to be taken advantage of. However, it seemed that the Lin Family was benefiting greatly from the Bai Family. Without Bai Ruozhu teaching them the crafting method, where would they have earned so much silver?
Wan Caiyue blushed a bit, "I am still very far from being skillful, I can only crochet basic patterns."
"You’ll get the hang of it soon," Fusa comforted her, "You learn much quicker than I do."
Bai Ruozhu was also impressed by Wan Caiyue’s craftsmanship and smiled, "Once my sister-in-law is completely proficient, she can take over from me and then I can learn something else."
Fusa and Wan Caiyue both looked at Bai Ruozhu in surprise, what other skills did Bai Ruozhu plan to acquire? How did Bai Ruozhu come up with all these ideas?
Seeing the surprised look on their faces, Bai Ruozhu felt a little bit smug. As a modern transmigrator, she should have some unique advantages, otherwise, it would be embarrassing.
The happy conversation while working meant the time flew by. Before they realized, Bai Yihong, Bai Zehao, and Lin Laifu emerged with triumphant expressions.
"Heh, that little guy really wasn’t up to the mark, his head was drooping as soon as he left the exam place. We caught him and gave him a good beating. When our second brother came out, the guy was made to apologize to him," Bai Zehao was full of high spirits, displaying a sense of authority.
This sight filled Bai Ruozhu with great satisfaction. Her father was a tad too soft-hearted, her eldest brother suited this role perfectly.
Lin Laifu, not caring for idle chatter, simply laughed and went back to work at his stall; he was the kind of man who couldn’t bear to see his wife over-working.
Bai Yihong also added, "We questioned him, that guy’s named Zeng Shusheng. No one put him up to this. He managed to pass the last exam by a hair, as he had just happened to study the major test topic the day prior, and he barely managed to pass. His ranking was at the bottom. He knew his level of competence was insufficient and he planned to just scrape by with the title of scholar, and then use it to secure a teaching job. Who would have thought that a re-examination would be required, and that this examination would be even more difficult?"
Lin Ping’er frowned with concern, "How about Er Lang? With the exam being more difficult, will he perform well?"
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, "Mother, you’re worrying too much, the more difficult the exam, the more it plays to my second brother’s strengths."
"Indeed, my second brother said that his exam went well, although he caught a cold and went home to drink ginger soup," said Bai Zehao, with a grumble about Zeng Shusheng for causing his second brother’s cold.
Bai Ruozhu frowned in thought, becoming annoyed. If her second brother was at home by himself, then the pair left at home were Guizhi and Aunt Zhang and Rongrong. Aunt Zhang definitely couldn’t get out of bed, and Rongrong was much better, but nobody would want her to make ginger soup, so wouldn’t it be Guizhi caring for her second brother?
She was a bit worried, but she thought to herself: she was clear about Guizhi’s character, she definitely would not do anything inappropriate, even a confession was unlikely, at most she would just look at her second brother a few more times.
However, thinking that Dengdeng was still at home, Bai Ruozhu said to her parents, "If there’s nothing else I will go home first, just to keep Dengdeng, that little foodie from crying out of hunger."
Everybody burst out laughing when they heard her; Bai Ruozhu always bubbled about Dengdeng being a little foodie, everyone remembered this word, finding it quite interesting.
"Oh yes, Sister-in-law, Brother Lin, after packing up your stall come visit, we are having dinner together." Bai Ruozhu said to Fusa.
Fusa readily agreed.
Bai Ruozhu returned home happily. Her second brother had already drank the ginger soup and was sweating out his fever. Seeing that Guizhi looked normal, she felt more at ease. She fed Dengdeng, then changed the medication for Aunt Zhang and Rongrong, then went to cook for Yu Hongxiu. After cooking for her, she returned to the west courtyard for dinner, ending up busy for the entire day.
By the time they were packing up the stall, Bai Ruozhu had nearly finished preparing dinner, but after waiting for a while, her family members had not yet returned home. She wondered if business was exceptionally good that day, which was causing them to close late?
But that shouldn’t have been the case; today was the day when her second brother retook his examination. They had arranged to have a hearty meal with the Lin Family.
Bai Ruozhu felt uneasy, planning to go to the stall and check things out. Just as she was about to leave, she ran into her sister-in-law who seemed to be rushing back home.
"Sister-in-law, what happened? Why are you the only one back home?" Bai Ruozhu sensed that something was wrong and quickly asked.
Wan Caiyue was somewhat breathless from the hurried walk. She breathed heavily and said, "Ruozhu, the village sent a message saying that Ruolan was trying to kill herself by hanging. Your parents have just rushed back to see if they can save her. Mother asked you to rush over too!"
When Bai Ruozhu heard that Bai Ruolan tried to commit suicide, her heart skipped a beat. Just a few days ago, Bai Ruolan came to seek their help. It was Bai Ruozhu who finally decided that she could not help, because she truly believed that Bai Ruolan had not reached the end of the road yet, since she still had her maternal family. Who could have predicted she would despair and try to commit suicide?
"Sister-in-law, wait for me, I will bring Dengdeng. We don’t know how long this will take." After speaking, Bai Ruozhu went back to grab Dengdeng, and then ran to inform Guizhi and her second brother.
Upon hearing the news, Bai Zepei wanted to return to the village too, but Bai Ruozhu stopped him, "Second brother, with Uncle Zhang not around, there need to be a man in the courtyard. Moreover, you have caught a cold and shouldn’t be running around too much. Wait for us to return with the news."